RE_Statements - Europa



European Parliament2014-2019Plenary sitting<NoDocSe>B80276/2018</NoDocSe><Date>{11/06/2018}11.6.2018</Date><TitreType>MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION</TitreType><TitreSuite>to wind up the debate on the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission?/?High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy</TitreSuite><TitreRecueil>pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure</TitreRecueil><Titre>on Georgian occupied territories 10 years after the Russian invasion</Titre><DocRef>(2018/2741(RSP))</DocRef><RepeatBlock-By><Depute>Charles Tannock, Karol Karski, Urszula Krupa, Ryszard Antoni Legutko, Roberts Zīle, Anna El?bieta Fotyga, Jadwiga Wi?niewska, Jan Zahradil</Depute><Commission>{ECR}on behalf of the ECR Group</Commission></RepeatBlock-By>B80276/2018European Parliament resolution on Georgian occupied territories ten years after the Russian invasion(2018/2741(RSP))The European Parliament,–having regard to the ceasefire agreement of 12?August?2008, mediated by the EU and signed by Georgia and the Russian Federation, and the implementation agreement of 8?September?2008,–having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2016 on Association Agreements / Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine,–having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy,–having regard to the joint declarations of the Eastern Partnership summits, notably that agreed in 2017 in Brussels,–having regard to the joint communications from the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), notably the report of 18 May 2017 on the implementation of the ENP review (JOIN(2017)0018), the joint staff working document of 9 June 2017 entitled ‘Eastern Partnership – 20 Deliverables for 2020: Focusing on key priorities and tangible results’ (SWD(2017)0300), and the 2016 communication entitled ‘A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign And Security Policy’,–having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in the Eastern Neighbourhood and, in particular, its recommendation of 15 November 2017 to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS on the Eastern Partnership, in the run-up to the November 2017 Summit,–having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,A.whereas 10 years after the Russian military aggression in Georgia of August 2008, the Russian Federation still continues its illegal occupation of the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, undermining international law and the rules-based international system, and is taking active steps towards the full annexation of both regions;B.whereas Russia constantly reinforces its illegal military presence in Georgia’s occupied territories by constructing new bases, bringing in new troops and equipment, and conducting military exercises;C.whereas Russia continues to be in breach of its international obligations and refuses to implement the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008;D.whereas Russia continues to isolate both regions from the rest of the country by closing additional crossing points, putting in place physical barriers along the administrative boundary line (ABL) and conducting a campaign aimed at eradicating Georgian culture;E.whereas this line is slowly but steadily being moved deeper into Tbilisi-controlled territory in a process known as ‘borderisation’, in some places coming very close to critical infrastructure such as gas pipelines;F.whereas hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons and refugees forcibly expelled from the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia as a result of several waves of ethnic cleansing continue to be deprived of their fundamental right to a safe and dignified return to their homes;G.whereas basic human rights, including the right to freedom of movement and residence, to property and of access to native-language education, are being violated in the occupied regions of Georgia; whereas illegal detentions and kidnappings continue to take place;H.whereas the Russian Federation, as a power exercising effective control over the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, bears full responsibility for severe human rights violations and the humanitarian situation on the ground;I.whereas the 2008 invasion was Russia’s first major open attack on the European order; whereas it was later followed by others, including the annexation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine;J.whereas one of the goals of the Russian invasion was to change the situation on the ground and to thwart Georgia’s NATO membership promised during the Bucharest Summit earlier that year; whereas NATO’s reluctance to admit Georgia and Ukraine has been interpreted by Russia as a green light for the aggression;K.whereas the joint ad-hoc visit of Eastern European leaders Lech Kaczyński, President of Poland, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia, Valdas Adamkus, President of Lithuania, Ivars Godmanis, Prime Minister of Latvia, and Victor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine, to Georgia of 12 August 2008 is widely seen as a major factor in preventing the Russian advance towards Tbilisi and facilitating the brokering of the ceasefire by the French presidency of the Council of the EU;L.whereas the Russian Federation continues to deny the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) access to the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia in violation of the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008, thus hampering the mission’s ability to fully implement its mandate;1.Reaffirms its unequivocal support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia;2.Expresses its condolences to the families of all the victims of the conflict;3.Recognises the role played by the EU in negotiating the ceasefire and supporting the Georgian side, notably through the creation of the EUMM; calls, however, for the EU to play an even more active role and to continue to engage actively in conflict resolution, through the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, as Co-Chair of the Geneva International Discussions, and the EUMM;4.Pays tribute to the decisive action taken by the Eastern European leaders who visited Tbilisi in August 2008 when Russian troops were only 50 km away from the Georgian capital;5.Reiterates its call on Russia to respect fully the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and the inviolability of its internationally recognised borders, to reverse its recognition of the separation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, to end its occupation thereof and to reciprocate the commitment to the non-use of force vis-à-vis Georgia;6.Condemns Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Syria and Nauru for their recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and calls for this recognition to be withdrawn;7.Strongly condemns the systematic violations of the human rights of the citizens of Georgia by representatives of the Russian Federation’s occupying forces, including murder, torture and kidnapping; welcomes, in this respect, the adoption by the Parliament of Georgia of the bi-partisan resolution which establishes a blacklist of persons responsible for such violations or for their cover-up (Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili list) and calls on the Member States and the Council to blacklist and impose national or EU-wide sanctions on those who appear or who may appear on the Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili list;8.Calls on the Russian Federation to fully implement the ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008, putting an immediate stop to the process of ‘borderisation’ and the strengthening of its military presence in both occupied regions;9.Reminds the Russian Federation, as an occupying power, of its obligations towards the population and that it must cease violations of human rights, restrictions on freedom of movement and residence, discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, and infringement of the right to property and access to native-language education in the occupied territories of Georgia;10.Calls on the Russian Federation to allow the EUMM unconditional access to the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia as per its mandate;11.Condemns, in this regard, all steps taken by Russia towards the full annexation of the territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia;12.Acknowledges that the failure to respond adequately to the Russian aggression against Georgia in 2008 prompted Russia to continue aggressive military and political campaigns, both in its neighbourhood and beyond, and by doing so to weaken and undermine the rules-based international order and stability in Europe and elsewhere;13.Stresses that the international community must take a consistent, coordinated, united and firm stance against Russia’s occupation and annexation policy as the only means to ensure peaceful conflict resolution in Georgia and prevention of similar conflicts in the neighbourhood;14.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Georgia and the Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation. ................
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